what Billy did, and we too in the 1960s platformed black leaders
such as Bill Pannell and Tom Skinner. On the cover of our teen
magazine, Campus Life, we ran a photo of white and black
teenagers riding in the same convertible. We had hundreds of
magazines sent back from groups that would not distribute it in
the South. But we were committed to this, and Billy’s example
confirmed for us that this was the right direction.”
Jay is quick to say his contacts with Billy were limited, and
that’s an important point. Many of those heavily influenced by
Billy spend little one-on-one time with him. Jay says that despite
relatively few in-person meetings, “Billy has been huge for me.
He embodied what we wanted to emulate.” Jay, a voracious
reader of thoughtful books, and a brilliant communicator, has
very different capacities from Billy. Yet like many leaders with the
same core commitments, he saw in Billy integrity, wisdom, and a
flag he could follow.
Jay also points out it was not just Billy. “The whole Graham
organization and all their people were tremendously encourag-
ing to me,” he says. Jay searched for the best way to express this,
finally landing on, “The best metaphor is King Arthur. The
Knights of the Round Table had deep affection for and loyalty to
Arthur. Billy is the combination of about ten people who gave
over their whole lives and careers to reach the world for Christ.
I’ve never been around a Billy Graham insider who spoke with
anger or envy or disillusionment about their involvement in the
Association. They’re not fawners or sycophants or courtiers, they
simply have a shared vision.”
Starting in his earliest days of ministry, Billy had this broad
and lasting impact on leaders, both clergy and lay. For instance,
after his meetings in England in 1954, the makeup of the clergy
of Great Britain was significantly altered. British scholar J. I.
Packer estimates that in 1944 only 5 percent of British clergy
could be considered conservative and evangelical; by 2004 more
than 30 percent of Church of England clergy are some type of
evangelical, a change that Packer says can be traced to Graham’s
impact in 1954.
Igniting Other Leaders